Jakob's Nightmare
by Skyrvy
Summary: This is a story in which Jakob has terrible nightmares that he sleepwalks through, and Corrin hears him one night and tries to help... I hate synopsis... synopsises? Synopses? Summaries. I hate summaries. But trust me, this is very sweet and warm, and I think that you'll like it . It's an alternate way of how Corrin and Jakob tell their feelings for one another. Fire Emblem Fates
**A/N Lunammoon requested that I make a story reversed from my "Nightmares and Dreams,"**

 **and it turns out that I'm really glad she did! I really enjoyed writing this! I hope you all enjoy it too :]**

A crash jolted Corrin awake. She sat up in bed, groggy and listening, half certain she had just dreamed the sound. She shook her head gently to wake herself up and turned to her bedside table. Her movements were sluggish. She fumbled with the matches, dropping some onto the floor before she managed to strike one and light a candle. Taking a shaky breath, she looked around her with the light.

She saw nothing, but her instincts told her something was wrong. Something was off.

She stood, pulling a thin housecoat on over her night things, and grabbing her sword from where it leaned. She picked up her candle and walked to her door, listening again. Faintly, she thought she heard something. A whimper? Was that—Was that Jakob?

Fear coiled in her stomach, and she threw her door open, going out into the darkness. She looked left and right for some danger, but again, she saw nothing. She was certain, though, that she had heard something. She went to Jakob's room, pushing through the door and stepping inside, candle raised. He wasn't in his bed. Where was he? She heard a slight sound behind her and spun.

Jakob, standing crouched over, his usually neatly braided hair hanging tangled in his face. She was relieved for about half a second before she realized something was still wrong. There was a broken vase on the floor, blood on Jakob's arm, his dagger clutched in his hand, and a strange emptiness in his eyes. "Jakob?" she murmured, worry wriggling in her chest. She scanned the room again, but she saw no reason for him to be holding his dagger. He mumbled something unintelligible at her, taking half a step forward, and suddenly Corrin realized he was sleepwalking. She dropped her sword, set her candle down and went to him. "Jakob," she said louder, putting her hands on his shoulders.

His empty eyes turned towards her, and he growled at her, a wild expression on his face that she had never seen there before. "Jak—" He lunged towards her, and she cried out in surprise, stumbling back and falling to the floor. He landed on top of her and straddled her. With a snarl, he pressed his dagger to her throat, a prickle of pain against her neck. She froze in astonishment, and, likewise, he paused, confused suddenly and, thankfully, not pressing the knife any harder. She found her voice. "Jakob, it's me! Wake up! It's Corrin!" He blinked down at her, his snarl turning into a twist of disorientation. She touched her palm to his cheek. "Jakob, it's _me_." Recognition crossed his features, and he blinked again. He yelled in shock, dropping his dagger like it was a snake about to bite him. He stumbled backwards, falling against the wall, his eyes wide with horror.

"Corrin, forgive me," his words were hollow as he realized what he had been close to doing. He covered his face with his hands, sliding to the floor. "Forgive me, Corrin. Forgive me!" His voice cracked. "I didn't know what I was doing! I thought you were—I thought I was—" He shook his head angrily. "It doesn't matter. It doesn't matter. I'm so dreadfully sorry!" A sob hitched in his throat, and he stopped speaking, shoulders shaking.

Pain pierced Corrin's chest. "It's not your fault," she said to him. She got her feet beneath her and kneeled beside him.

"It _is_ my fault. I was about to—" his own tears cut off the anguished words that he spoke through his hands. Corrin had never seen him like this before—messy, fearful, crushed—and she didn't know how to help him! Her heart broke for him, and she felt like crying herself. "Oh, Jakob," she murmured, touching his arm.

"M—My Lady, you should go."

"Never," she replied fiercely. "I would never leave you like this, Jakob." She wrapped her arms around him and hugged him hard. "It's ok." She said. "You're ok now."

"My—Corrin," he said thickly.

She hugged him harder, almost insistently. She wouldn't leave. She couldn't dream of leaving her beloved Jakob in this state! A moment of uncertainty passed and then he let his defenses down, returning her embrace and burying his face in her neck, silent tears on his cheeks. He shook in her arms.

"Shh," Corrin murmured, voice nearly cracking with pain for her dear tortured Jakob. "It's ok now. You're ok."

Lightening flashed through the window and thunder rumbled outside. With the sound, Jakob briefly tightened his hold on her before releasing her altogether. "Thank you, My Lady," he murmured numbly. "But you should really go now before the rain comes."

Frustration warred with desperation, and Corrin put her hands to his damp cheeks, turning his face to hers. "I'm not going anywhere, Jakob." His eyes searched hers, and she firmly repeated, "I'm not going anywhere."

"Corrin," the single word came out as a whisper of disbelief. Then his gaze twitched downwards, and pain crossed his features. His hand came up, fingers gently brushing across her neck. "You're bleeding."

Her own fingers brushed across his. "Oh. Oh, it's nothing, Jakob. It's nothing."

"Nothing?" He asked wryly, tears glistening in his eyes. "I could have killed you."

She shook her head, "You wouldn't have. I _know_ you wouldn't have. You were just—You were having a nightmare."

"You don't—You can't know that. I didn't know what I was doing… I could have—" She shook her head at his words, but she felt like it was useless. How could she convince him? She tried to hug him again, to show him that she trusted him, but he stopped her, "No. No, my lady." He lurched to his feet, going to the window, looking out at the lightening as rain began pouring from the sky. "You shouldn't be here. I'll be fine. Go back to sleep."

She let out a breath and climbed to her feet. "I can't go to sleep when I know you're suffering, Jakob. Honestly, I'm fine." She uselessly gestured at his back. "You hurt yourself more than you hurt me."

He looked at his arm, the sleeve tinged red with blood. "I should suffer much more than this for what I almost did to you. You shouldn't worry about me. I'm not worth it. I'm—I'm nothing," he spoke with such self-loathing that Corrin just wanted to scream at him. "I'm _less_ than nothing."

She stepped towards him, "Gods, Jakob, don't say that! Don't ever say that. You are _not_ nothing. You're—You're—" she let out a breath, suddenly afraid to say the words she wanted to, and she stared at his back, wishing he'd turn around so she could look into his eyes.

He shook his head at her words, and she didn't know whether it was from disbelief or shame. He said nothing, though, and leaned his forehead against the cool glass of his window. And it hurt Corrin, physically hurt her to see him like this. How could he be so oblivious to the way she felt about him? Usually he was not so slow.

She bit her lip and went to him, wrapped her arms around his waist, and laid her head on his back. He stiffened. His hands grazed across her skin. "Jakob," she said quietly. "You don't know, do you?"

"Know what?" he whispered.

She snuggled against him, reveling in his warmth, suddenly afraid she might lose him forever if he didn't realize how she cared for him. "You'll never be nothing. You _can't_ be nothing when you mean everything to someone."

His hands covered hers on his stomach. "…Mean everything to… someone?" His words came out in a shuddering breath.

"To me, Jakob," she clarified, heart thundering in her chest. "You mean everything to _me_. I love you. I love you desperately.

He didn't say anything, the silence only broken by the growling of the thunder and the trickle of the rain. When it stretched longer still, Corrin began to doubt. Had she made a mistake? Did she just upset him further? Heavens, was he trying to figure out a way to let her down gently? She blushed deeply, tears forming in her eyes, but she didn't let go. If he didn't care for her, then she had to stay, to hold him for as long as she was able.

"My lady…" Jakob said, voice emotional but stiff. "You mustn't say things like that." Lightening flickered in the window, flashing in the room, just as the candle guttered and went out with puff of smoke, leaving them in near darkness, and Corrin didn't let go. The tears in her eyes spilled down her cheeks, and she didn't let go.

She struggled to speak, to find words to say, words to reply to that statement. "F-Forgive me… Jakob. I—I thought that you might… care for me as well—" her voice broke, and she stopped, and she didn't let go. She knew she'd have to. Any minute now, she'd have to, but just then, she couldn't. She didn't have the strength to stand on her own without his warmth.

After a moment of tension, Jakob's hands clutched hers, and he pulled them from him, turning around to face her. Lightening flashed, and for a split second, she could see his expression, a mixture of longing and anxiety and uncertainty. Then they were in darkness again, blinded by the brief light. She couldn't see him at all, but she could feel his warm hands holding hers. She could feel his breath on her face.

"Corrin, I do—I _do_ care for you. Never doubt that… Corrin, I love you."

She took a deep breath, relief washing over her. "Then—Then why—?"

He shook his head, lightening briefly lighting up his white hair. "Because you're my mistress, my princess, and even if that weren't the case. I have—I have these nightmares. I wake up in places without knowing how I got there. And—and this isn't the first time I've hurt someone, Corrin. I almost killed _you_. I'm dangerous… I'm—I'm _broken_."

Corrin searched for the words her heart was crying out to say. "Gods, Jakob, I don't care about titles! If you were a pig farmer, I'd still be in love with you. And you're _not_ dangerous around me. You stopped when you could have killed me! Even in your sleep you wouldn't hurt me…" She squeezed his hands. "But if you're damaged, if you're broken, then let me fix you. Nothing would make me happier than to have the privilege of standing by your side in daylight and… And comforting you at night."

Thunder rumbled, the rain intensifying outside, and light flickered across Jakob's face, showing his bewilderment. "How could I…" He faltered. "What could I have possible done to deserve your love?"

She shook her head. "It wasn't something specific you did, Jakob. You were just yourself. All you ever had to do was be yourself, and I couldn't help loving you."

He released her hands and touched her cheeks instead. "Corrin," he whispered fiercely. She could feel his breath on her skin, and she turned her face towards his. He missed, lips touching the spot next to her nose. Unfazed, he moved downwards, mouth deliciously pressing again and again against her face until he reached her lips and for a desperate moment, stopped there. With agonizing slowness, he pressed against her, crushing his mouth against hers, kissing her into delirium, going deeper second by second.

Between maddeningly slow kisses, he whispered her name reverently, and his hands slid from her face to her shoulders and deliberately down her arms, sending a controversy of chills and heat through her where his skin touched hers. His palms moved to her sides, then her back, and he pulled her to him. She went willingly, her own arms slithering about his neck into his disheveled hair. Again he whispered her name, and it made her dizzy and weak to hear it on his lips.

"Gods, I love you," she whispered fervently, and he responded by crushing his mouth against hers and working across her lips. She stumbled backwards, and he went with her. The back of her knees hit the edge of his mattress, and she lost her balance, falling like she had when he had attacked her, but rather than landing with a knife at her throat, she landed with Jakob's lips there instead, kissing away the thin line of blood he had caused. He straddled her, hands on her face, in her hair, on her body, kissing up her neck, to her chin and finding her mouth once more.

She reached her hands up to his shoulders and pulled him closer, lifting herself off the bed until she was pressed against him. He moaned quietly, his arms wrapping around her.

Just when she thought she might not be able to take anymore, that she might explode from the delightful agony, he tore away and fell beside her, his arms still holding her. They both shook, breathless, and gazing at each other in the flickers of lightening.

"Stay with me," Jakob whispered. "I know I shouldn't ask it… But stay with me."

She nuzzled closer to him, kissed his face, kissed his lips. "I wouldn't dream of leaving."

His fingers threaded through her hair. A buzzing of happiness in her stomach made everything else in the world absolutely irrelevant. "I love you Corrin..." he paused. "I wish I had more to offer you than that."

She shook her head. Didn't he get it? "You are all I need, Jakob. _Just_ you. If you can only tell me that I have you, that you're truly mine, then I will be happy forever."

His lips brushed her cheekbone, her nose, and her mouth. Then he traced his fingers across her face, whispering, "You have me, Corrin. You have me."


End file.
